A Shocking Discovery
by Zalpine
Summary: A Coraline story with some Harry Potter elements in it. Coraline receives an invitation from Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1

Note: I don't own anything related to Coraline or Harry Potter.

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A Shocking Discovery

September was here, and Coraline grew increasingly unhappy. She had recently moved to Oregon and hadn't made any friends, except for her quirky neighbor Wybie. School was in exactly one week, and she knew it would be hard to start over. Shortly after moving, she was met with a series of strange circumstances. She had discovered a parallel world; a world, in which evil in its purest form (that of deception) existed. The experience shook her; she had barely escaped alive.

Coraline rose from her bed and walked down to the kitchen. It was raining outside, just as it had been for most of the week. It sure did rain a lot in Oregon. Her mother and father were both typing on their laptops. "How typical," thought Coraline sarcastically. After she had returned from the other world, her parents were more friendly and fun for a few days; but they returned to their usual boring, always-working selves.

"So… What's new?" she asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

Her mother grunted, and tersely stated, "Busy. Working."

"Of course," Coraline said, then left the kitchen. She thought about going over Wybie's house. "He might be an idiot, but at least he passes the time," she thought. She grabbed her coat and put on her shoes. She was just about to tell her mom that she was going out, when something slammed into the window. It made a big noise, and the thing that flew into the window continued to fly into it.

"Ugh, what is that? For heaven's sake, Coraline, go see what that is!" Her mother yelled.

"Whatever," Coraline said. She went over to the window and tried to get a better look at whatever it was. It looked like a bird, and it was white.

"Mom, it's a bird, and I think it's retarded. Anyway, I'm going to Wybie's. So sorry about your bird problem," she rolled her eyes, "but I think you'll have to deal with it."

Her mother groaned as Coraline walked out the door. Luckily for her mother, the bird immediately left the window and flew right into Coraline, who screamed as it hit her.

The bird calmed down and landed on the ground. It made a small friendly hoot, and Coraline noticed it had a letter attached to its foot. Upon closer inspection, Coraline noticed it was a snowy owl. "That's weird," Coraline thought, "I haven't seen any owls around here yet."

She took the letter from its foot and saw that it was addressed to her: Coraline Jones. It was written in neat cursive handwriting. "Almost magical-looking," Coraline thought. The seal on the letter said (in a foreign language that Coraline had never heard of), "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus." She opened the letter and she took out a piece of parchment. It read:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall

Dear Miss Jones,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 10. We await your owl by no later than September 5.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Headmistress

Coraline read it over a few more times and didn't know what to think. She asked herself a stream of questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how; but she had no plausible answers. "Witchcraft and wizardry? What kind of a stupid joke is this?"

She read it over once more and then came to the conclusion: "Wybie did it…of course." She ran around the apartment complex and shouted for Wybie a couple times. After looking for him for fifteen minutes, she couldn't find him. She turned around and walked back home, the letter in her hands. "Wybie must be hiding," she thought. "He's such a moron sometimes. I know he wrote that letter. That's why he's hiding."

Just as she started to walk home, Wybie came riding up to her on his motor bike. "Jonesie, what're ya doin'?" he said, "I thought I heard you calling me."

"I was calling you, you dork! And I know it's you who sent me that stupid letter!" she said.

"Huh? What letter?" Wybie questioned, and he tilted his head a bit. He got off his motor bike, and came to Coraline's side in order to look at the letter.

"The letter that talked about wizards and witches. And warthog school. Don't play dumb. I know it was you." She thrust the letter into his hands. "Now do you remember? Where'd you get the owl, by the way?"

"Owl? Did you say an owl gave you this?" Wybie asked her.

"Yeah," Coraline replied.

Wybie read the letter, and then he took a deep breath. "Well, look Jonesie… I know you're not gonna believe me when I tell ya this, but I didn't send this. And I know where this is from. It's from a school that teaches magic. It's called Hogwarts."

"Magic!? Wybie, do you think I'm five years old? There's no such thing as magic. What are you gonna tell me next—that fairies are real or something?"

"Jonesie, listen. Magic is real. My grandma's a witch, I swear. I've seen her do magic a few times, and it's crazy stuff. Anyway, I'm a wizard. I got a letter from Hogwarts too, and I guess someone in your family must be magical, 'cause you're a witch!"

"Eww, I'm not a witch! Do I look like an old lady flying around on a broomstick to you?"

"Well, to be honest…." He laughed. "Just kidding, Jonesie. A witch is any girl who can do magic. And by the way, you can actually fly on a magic broomstick. My grandma told me they teach us that at Hogwarts."

Wybie continued, "Jonesie, you gotta tell your mom and dad. The school's in Britain, so you gotta get a flight there. And if your parents don't believe ya, well, maybe my grandma will let you come on the plane with me."

"Okay, enough with the joke, Wybie. It's getting old," Coraline said flatly.

Wybie sighed. "What can I do to convince you? I tried to believe you about the other world, because you were being really serious about it. Can't ya see I'm being serious about this? You have to try to believe me. Look, just show it to your parents. See what they think."

Coraline smirked at the thought of showing the letter to her mom, while she typed away on her laptop. "Alright, fine, I'll see what my parents say about your stupid joke." With that, they said goodbye to each other. Wybie rode away on his motor bike, and Coraline walked home.

She walked through the door and her mom was doing the same thing: typing on her boring laptop. "Mom, I got something to show you," Coraline said with mock eager. She decided to play along with Wybie's joke. "Mom, I'm a witch! A witch! I gotta go to Hogwarts, all the way in Britain! Oh, Mom, can I go? Please, can I go?"

"Coraline… What are you talking about?" her mom asked. Coraline put the letter down in front of her. Her mom took a break from her typing and read the letter. "Cute." She smirked. "Now I need to get back to my work. Why don't you go see what your father thinks of it?"

"Whatever," she said as she entered her dad's study. "Dad! Dad! I got something to show you! I'm a witch, and I'm goin' to Hogwarts!" She wasn't serious about what she was saying. Just simply playing along with Wybie's joke, because to her it was so very boring in her house.

"What's that? You have to slow down, Coraline. I don't know what you're saying," her dad replied, looking up from the computer screen.

"Just read the letter," she said and handed him the letter. He read it over a few times, then laid back in his chair. "Coraline, why don't you have a seat?" he motioned to the other chair in the room. "There's something I have to tell you."

Coraline sat down and, puzzled, she listened. "Coraline," her father continued, "this might sound silly, but there is actually magic in the world. Only a select group of people are born with magical ability, and they're called witches and wizards. Hogwarts is a school that teaches youngsters how to do magic."

Coraline laughed a little and said, "Good one, Dad."

"Coraline, I'm dead serious. When I was growing up, my sister (well, your aunt) was a witch. She went to Hogwarts school when she was 11, the same age as you are now. I didn't think this would happen, Coraline, but you are a witch. I'll talk to your mother about it later, okay?"

"Wait! So, you're really serious!? Wybie wasn't joking—Wybie's a wizard!? Magic is real, a-and I can learn how to do magic!? But how is this possible? How is it all a big secret? How did I never know about this?"

"It's a well-guarded secret. And we had some suspicious incidents with you when you were a little girl, and I thought 'I wonder if she's magical.' But hey—I didn't know much about witches and wizards. I only knew my sister was one. Anyway, you said your friend Wybie was a wizard, right? Why don't you go talk to him about it all? He'll know what he's talking about. I have to get back to my work, Coraline. I'll talk to your mother about it later."

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Author's Note: Thanks for reading! This is just an idea that randomly came to me. I'm not sure if anyone else has written a similar story. Anyway, please review it! ^_^


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

For the next few days, Coraline was exploding with questions, and every time Wybie or his grandmother replied with an answer, she had another question to ask them. Her father had, indeed, talked to her mother about it all. It took a couple of days for her mother to finally believe that magic actually existed, but in the end it was decided: Coraline would be taking a plane to England, and then taking a train to Hogwarts. Her parents had collaborated with Wybie's parents, and they had gotten them seats next to each other on the plane.

Coraline hadn't been excited in a long time until now. The prospect of learning magic, something she hadn't believed in for years, seemed amazing. She kept reading the letter from Hogwarts, and she dreamed of magic wands, flying broomsticks, and bubbling potions each night. Looking at the list of supplies for Hogwarts, she thought about what Wybie had told her: that they would be going to a special magical community located nearby. Only witches and wizards could see it; muggles couldn't.

Wybie had said they would be travelling to it by some sort of powder. He had told her that you stand in a fireplace, then throw the powder on the ground, and shout wherever it was you were going. Coraline couldn't remember the place's name right now, but Wybie would tell her tomorrow.

Later that night she went to sleep. She threw on some jeans and a light blue shirt in the morning, had some pancakes for breakfast, and then she was off to Wybie's. She walked through the woods, and then crossed practically the only street in her middle-of-nowhere neighborhood.

Wybie had a fairly small house, because he only lived with his grandmother. The house was painted white and had a darker roof. It was only one story. It had two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen, all modestly decorated. Coraline walked up to the front door and knocked twice.

"Hellooo? Anybody home?" she called.

Wybie opened the door. He was wearing a pair of loose jeans and a red T-shirt that seemed to be too big for him.

"Hey there, Jonesie. Wasn't expecting you this early," He said with his characteristically weak smile. Coraline entered the house. Wybie, apparently still eating breakfast, went back to his cereal on the kitchen table.

"Yeah, well," she nervously laughed, "big day, you know? I guess you could say we're gonna go on a 'shopping spree.'"

Wybie smiled and replied, "Yeah, you brought your letter, right?" Coraline pulled it out of her pocket and held it up for him. "Cool," he continued. "So, you remember what I told you about the Floo powder yesterday?"

"Yeah," she said, as Wybie put his finished bowl in the sink. "But I don't remember the place's name. What's it called again?"

"Mentloc's Square. Some old wizard dude named Mentloc founded it a long time ago."

For a few hours, she and Wybie hung out. They went outside for a bit, and when they came back, Wybie's grandmother was awaiting them. She had a small pot on the table. The pot was filled with what looked like a mixture of dirt and dust, but Coraline knew it was the Floo powder.

Wybie's grandmother was a short old lady, with a very wrinkled face and a small pair of glasses. She had white hair and deep brown eyes that seemed to slightly hypnotize whatever they caught sight of. "Hello there, Coraline, Wyborn," she looked at both of them, then turned to Coraline.

"Coraline, Wyborn already knows how to do this, but I'll need to teach you. It's quite simple. What you need to do is take a handful of this here Floo powder, then step into the fireplace, throw the powder down and shout 'Mentloc's Square.' Do you understand?"

Coraline nodded her head, and Wybie's grandma continued, "So, Wybie's going to go first, and you'll go second. I won't be going with you two. Wybie knows the place well. He'll be able to find everything."

Coraline watched as Wybie took a handful of the powder and walked into the fireplace. She was starting to get goosebumps, but Wybie looked very calm. _"He's probably done this loads of times before," _she thought.

Wybie suddenly threw the powder on the ground and simultaneously shouted, "Mentloc's Square!" A green fire roared up, and for a moment it looked like he would be burned by it, but he had disappeared and was no longer able to be seen.

After that sight, the butterflies in Coraline's stomach turned into a monstrous acidic beast that threatened to leap right out of her throat; she felt like she was going to throw up. Shaking, she said, "M-mrs. Lovat, a-are you sure this is a good idea? Are you sure this isn't dangerous?"

Wybie's grandma chuckled and said, "I figured that'd be how you'd react, Coraline," she chuckled some more. "Don't worry. The flames won't harm you. They are simply a side-effect of the Floo powder." Having said that, she beckoned Coraline over to her and held out the jar of Floo powder.

Coraline shakily stepped forward and took a grasp of the powdery substance. It was very fine, so she tightened her grip on it so as to not let it slip out of her fist. She walked into the fire place and faced Wybie's grandmother. _"It's gonna be okay," _she told herself in her head, _"Just do it."_

With a gulp, she threw the Floo powder onto the ground, and immediately emerald green flames flared up all around her. However, they were only there for a mere split-second. She screamed, quite loudly, "Mentloc's Square!" As she said that, she was whisked away. A million colors swirled around her, and she heard a conglomeration of sounds, just for a few seconds, and then reality.


End file.
